(a) In this section:
(1) "Career and technology education program" means:
(A) a career and technology education program under Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code; or
(B) a program determined by the department to be similar to that described by Paragraph (A) and offered by:
(i) an institution of higher education; or
(ii) a private school, as defined by Section 5.001, Education Code.
(2) "Institution of higher education" means an institution of higher education or a private or independent institution of higher education, as those terms are defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(b) The department shall recognize a career and technology education program as a certification training program for purposes of Section 1302.5036.
(c) The commission by rule shall establish standards for the essential knowledge and skills of a career and technology education program described by Subsection (a), subject to the approval of the State Board of Education if the courses are to be offered in a high school. The rules must:
(1) require the program to consist of an appropriate number of hours of classroom instruction and a practical component; and
(2) provide for crediting appropriate on-the-job training toward meeting the requirements of the practical component.
(d) A person may not provide instruction in a career and technology education program unless the person is:
(1) a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor; or
(2) a certified air conditioning and refrigeration technician whose certification was issued on or after September 1, 2018.
(e) A career and technology education program offered by an institution of higher education may not be more stringent than a program offered by a public high school.